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Little is known of McDonald, apart from his perhaps slightly unlikely status as a golf professional, his home city of Meridian in Mississippi, and his staggering score.

McCoy did, however, share one final detail about McDonald: "He was wearing pleated cotton khakis. It was 90 degrees. In Alabama."

To be fair to McDonald, conditions were clearly tough, with the winning score a three-under-par 69, 58 shots better than his own. The next worst score was also a savage 35-over-par 107, by Christopher Burley from Jacksonville, Alabama. That was still good enough to beat McDonald by a full 20 shots.

The Silver Lakes course is also clearly not one for a golfer struggling with his game; it has three loops of nine holes, ominously called the Heartbreaker, the Backbreaker and the Mindbreaker.

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The US Open will be held from June 15-18, for the first time at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, with world No 1 Dustin Johnson hoping to retain the title he won last year at Oakmont.

Local qualifying offers golf professionals all over the world the chance to join the world's elite. According to the USGA, golf's governing body in the United States, 9,485 players across 113 different sites are attempting to qualify for the event this summer.

McCoy was one of five players to advance from his qualifier and will now play in 36-hole sectional qualifying, which includes the qualifier at Walton Heath.

All professional golfers are eligible to enter, plus amateurs with a USGA handicap not exceeding 1.4.

"This is where the road to the US Open begins," according to the USGA. Although it's probably just as well that McDonald is driving back home again.